


Leaving Gifts

by lionheartedghost



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Cute, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:13:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25190698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lionheartedghost/pseuds/lionheartedghost
Summary: The 118 throw Hen a leaving party after she gets into med school. Buck gets her a leaving present.Written for 911 Week Day 5: “It’s okay, you can cry” + comfort.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Henrietta "Hen" Wilson, Henrietta "Hen" Wilson/Karen Wilson
Comments: 4
Kudos: 67





	Leaving Gifts

**Author's Note:**

> Written for 911 Week Day 5: “It’s okay, you can cry” + comfort.
> 
> Originally posted on Tumblr.

They’d done a good job on the banner, all things considered.  
  
“Thought about just using the other side of the one from my party,” Chim grinned, handing her a plate of cake. “Saving paper. But nope. Sprung for a whole new one, so, you’re welcome.”  
  
“It’s a good effort,” Hen nodded, tilting her head as she studied it. “Who wrote it? Can’t have been you; I can read it.”  
  
Chim pressed a hand to his chest. “You wound me, Hen. Truly. My handwriting is its own art form.”  
  
Hen raised an eyebrow.  
  
“Bobby wrote the main bit,” Chim admitted. “He offered.”  
  
That made sense. She could see it in the curve of the letters, recognised it from post-it notes left on the refrigerator, from messages in Christmas cards. A bright, bold ‘Congratulations!’, capital letters in red marker.  
  
Hen squinted to read the addendum someone had scrawled underneath in black pen.  
  
“Yeah,” Chim snorted. “Buck made some edits.”  
  
That made sense, too. She could just make out what the letters said, and she could hear it in his voice.  
  
’Don’t forget about us when you’re a hot-shot doctor!’  
  
She’d done it. She’d passed the MCATS. She’d got into medical school.  
  
She only wished she didn’t have to leave the 118 to do it.  
  
It was weird being on the other side of the surprise party. Not that it _had_ been a surprise; she’d overheard too much hushed whispering and stared down too many looks of feigned innocence to _not_ be suspicious. But they’d wanted to throw her a party, so she hadn’t said anything. It wasn’t their fault she was the single greatest party planner in the firehouse. They’d have to get used to managing on their own without her.  
  
Thinking about that made her heart hurt, so she tried not to.  
  
This was a good thing. A great thing. That feeling of saving lives, getting to know for sure that the person you were saving was going to be okay, getting to go past those doors and help more than she was used to, it was everything she wanted. And she’d still have her friends. She’d still have barbecue invitations to Athena and Bobby’s. She’d still go to the bar with Chimney. She’d still take Denny over to Eddie’s for playdates with Christopher. She’d still find a way to destroy Buck at video games. It wasn’t really a goodbye. But it _was_ the first time she’d walk out the doors knowing she wouldn’t see everyone back there in a couple days’ time.  
  
“Hey.” Karen reached over, brushing her thumb against the back of Hen’s hand. “You okay?”  
  
“Yeah,” Hen smiled back. She set her plate of cake down untouched on the table closest to her. “I’m just gonna take a little walk. Get some space from this party for a second.”  
  
“Okay.” Karen leant in to kiss her. “But once they notice you’ve ducked out I don’t know how much peace you’ll have.”  
  
“I only need a minute. I promise.”  
  
The rest of the station was quiet. Hen found her way to the locker room and sat down on the bench, taking in every detail of the room, committing everything to memory. Every mark on the linoleum. The feeling of the wooden bench beneath her hands. The sound of her friends, her family, in the loft above.  
  
A soft rapping against the locker room wall made her look up. Buck smiled, one hand held behind his back. “Hey. You ducking out on your own party?”  
  
“Just for a second,” she said. “Gotta get used to not having you guys around sometime, right?”  
  
“Oh, we’ll always be around,” Buck shrugged, grinning. “You can’t get rid of us that easy.”  
  
“I guess that was me being naive,” she smiled back. “Whatcha got there?”  
  
Buck grinned wider. “It’s a leaving present. Leaving presents, I guess. You want ‘em?”  
  
“Are you kidding? If I’d known there were presents coming I wouldn’t have run away from the party.”  
  
Buck laughed. He crossed the room to sit beside her, pulling a familiar box out from behind his back. “This is the first thing.”  
  
Hen peered through the transparent lid. “More cake?”  
  
“Cupcake,” he corrected. “Red velvet. You know, because you’re about to be a doctor and all, I figured I should repay the favour and get you something that-“  
  
“Bleeds when you cut it.” Hen breathed a laugh as she took the box from him. “Like I got you.”  
  
“Thought you should get used to all the blood and whatever before medical school.”  
  
“Because eight years of being a firefighter and a paramedic and three years of knowing _you_ haven’t been enough to prepare me for facing trauma calls.” Hen elbowed him in the ribs. “Thanks, Buck. This is really sweet.”  
  
“That’s present number one,” Buck said. “Present number two isn’t cake.”  
  
Hen watched him reach into his pocket and pull out a narrow rectangular box. He handed it to her, watched her take it with a confused furrow between her eyebrows as she carefully slid the lid off.  
  
Hen took the contents of the box out and held it between her fingers. It shone silver in the light that reached them.  
  
“So doctors all have fancy pens, right?” Buck said after a moment’s silence. “They keep them in their coat pockets and whatever. I don’t even think they use them, I’m ninety-eight percent sure it’s just part of the look, but you’re going to be the best doctor California’s ever seen so obviously you need your own.”  
  
Hen brushed a thumb over the engraving on the side of the pen.  
  
“And I got them to put your name on it too,” Buck smiled uncertainly. “Do you like it?”  
  
Hen read the swirling script over and over again until her eyes blurred.  
  
_Doctor H. Wilson_.  
  
“Aw, Buckaroo.” Hen smiled, swallowing the lump in her throat as she put the pen back in its box. “I was doing such a good job at holding it together and you do this to me?”  
  
“It’s kind of a reminder, too,” Buck admitted. “I thought if I gave you something you would see every day you wouldn’t forget that we’re all here for you, no matter what.”  
  
Hen set the box down on the bench between them, blinking quickly.  
  
“It’s okay,” Buck said, his voice soft. “You can cry.”  
  
Hen gave a shaky laugh, reaching to hug him. “I know it’s not like I’m never gonna see any of you again, but I’m really gonna miss you.  
  
Buck hummed. He wrapped his arms around her, rested his chin on top of her head, and hugged her tightly back. “We’re gonna miss you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! If you enjoyed it, kudos and comments are super appreciated!
> 
> If you want to say hi, you can find me over on Tumblr [here](http://lionheartedghost.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> Hope you're all staying safe and well!


End file.
